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Thursday, August 21, 2008

Honey and Thyme Roasted Pumpkin

It’s been raining a lot over here. Threats of typhoons, gloomy weekdays filled with the incessant patter of raindrops, grey skies, wonky dsl...the usual ways the rainy season makes its presence felt. Today’s different though...the sun is out (for now) where I live and I’m once again in a skirt and tank top, trying to keep cool.

Crazy weather. Determined to drive me mad. Lulling me into cozy thoughts of soup and stews, and then driving me headlong into the arms of fresh fruit and salad. Eating seasonally means a different thing every day over here, a challenge that is just a bit too much for me right now.

I seek refuge in the embrace of a very autumnal dish. Autumn is a season absent from our calendar and I find everyopportunity to flout nature and enjoy it on my table, if not in my weather.

Crazy, perplexing, faithless weather. You deserve my rebellion.

The weather aside, I am loving the local farmers who have started growing butternut squash. I find it at the markets more often now, and I make sure to buy some when I see it...no matter what the weather is like. In my favourite herb stall, at my Saturday market a while back, I found some gorgeous specimens. After much dithering about the size (I only have two mouths to feed after all) I finally succumbed to a 3-kilo beauty upon the urging of my friend M, who assured me that I could just cook and puree what I couldn’t use then freeze it for later consumption. Which is exactly what I did after enjoying the squash as a centrepiece on our dining room table (whole pumpkin is such a joy...you can keep it as decoration for the longest time while you ponder how you want to prepare it...not to mention the possibilities if you happen to have a fairy godmother!).

I divided the squash in half: Half I roasted and pureed, and stashed in my freezer for emergency butternut squash soup. This is what happened to the other half.

- Place the honey, butter, thyme, and nuts in a bowl and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste – it should have a sweet-salty flavour balance.- Arrange squash wedges in a roasting pan, or any sort of pan where they’d fit. I used a pyrex pie dish and that worked fine.- Pour the honey-nut mixture over the squash, dividing evenly between their little hollows.- Roast in a 200C oven for 30-40 minutes or until tender.- Serves 4 as a side dish.

The original recipe used golden nugget pumpkins (instead of butternut squash), maple syrup (instead of honey), and almonds and pecans (instead of walnuts and pili).

If there is someone out there who can resist a golden, caramelized wedge of butternut squash, softly roasted and topped with sweet sticky nuts...well, you are a stronger person than I. This dish was so divine that the weather made no hee-haw to me whichever way its inconstant winds wanted to blow. Rain or shine, wet or dry, sometimes you just need to close your window and do what you want.

51 comments:

Nope, I am definitely not stronger than you, Joey... This would be perfect for all those chilly nights we've been experiencing!Oi, fairy godmother? You are hoping for a coach to take you somewhere? Now all you'll get is frozen coach puree, ha ha ha! :)

Joey, I can tell I have to get to the market earlier than you if I am to score some butternut squash from Gil...heehee. Demand drives up production, right? Your photo, as usual, is stunning... Ever think about commerical food photography? In case you knew someone thinking about doing a book? :)

Hi MM! Haha! I left some of the squash behind! Heehee :) But yes, demand drives up production and I never stop badgering purveyors when I want to see more of the product :) Thank you for the wonderful compliment! Commercial food photography? For someone who might be thinking about doing a book? Do I get to eat the food after? ;)

Thanks Lori!!! That’s me, on the forefront of the squash conversion of the world! :)

Hi Rosa! It hardly ever gets chilly here...even when it rains! Except for in the mountains...maybe I should consider a mountain vacation :)

Hi Pille! Thanks! :)

Thanks Barbara! I love the nuts too! These are two of my favourites :)

Me and B have the same problem when it comes to too much food and only two mouths to feed. We hate wasting food, but we also have a terrible habit of forgetting what's leftover in our freezer and fridge.

I find it one of the amusing twists of life that butternut squash is "new-ish" there and so old here. I mean, all we see over here in terms of squash is butternut, butternut, butternut. I wish they grew more varieties here. But I guess butternut's where it's at, since it is one of the most delicious squashes around.

Phew, glad to know my (bad) influence wasn't wasted! What a lovely combination of nut and gourd. Imagine if you used sweet potatoes or ube with that candied nut and herb combination... the orange of the pumpkin, the purple yam, the caramelized nuts... gah, it's too early in the morning to be drooling.

Joey, that photo is almost obscene in its ability to turn me on! ;-) I can almost feel the syrup coating my lips, and the nuts sticking to my teeth. Lurve sweet root crops, and with butter and nuts, it could hardly get any better. (It just ocurred to me that you could also call this Butter & Nut Butternut Squash...though that would mean forgetting about two key ingredients...okay, never mind.)

Hello, Chichajo! I am quite a new fan of yours. Found your site through Marketman's. Love his site as well. Showed yours and Marketman's site to my husband, and he loves your writing as well. I've been reading through your site the last coupleof weeks. Haven't tried any of the recipes yet, but will definitely soon.

Marketman is right. You really should consider photography. Your pictures are often really stunning!

Hi Cecilia! Thank you for stopping by a leaving such a nice comment :) So glad to hear you are enjoying this little site :) I have much to learn about photography still and a lot of the credit goes to my “models” who are pretty well behaved and are never too demanding! ;) Hope you like the recipes and if you have questions feel free to email me! :)